Framing conflicts: The battle of rhetorical devices and media bias in the Israel-Hamas conflict

Muhammad Shahbaz Rajper
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has exposed breakdowns in strategic communication in the West. Israeli authorities called their actions anti-terrorist activities and emphasized the precision of the Iron Dome system. In this case, public opinion was influenced and verification was made difficult by false information spread by social media platforms such as X (now Twitter). This divergence in communication tactics has exposed the intricate connections between media, politicians and society, as well as the historical biases and geopolitical goals of Western narratives. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which had its origins in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and Israel’s independence, now centers around the Israeli-Hamas war. As Hamas has been at the forefront of the Palestinian struggle in Gaza since 1987, violence has increased dramatically. On October 7, Hamas launched massive shelling, to which Israeli forces responded with decisive retaliation. Through propaganda and history-making, Western strategic communications have normalized Israel’s actions in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Western media, through the right to self-defense, present Israel as a democratic country fighting terrorists. This image shows the veracity of Israeli military actions, especially regarding the Iron Dome missile defense system and Hamas as the terrorist organization responsible for the destruction. In many cases, they justify Israeli military operations as appropriate and necessary, while emphasizing the threat to the Israeli people. People’s views change dramatically when the words “terrorists” and “self-defense” are used strategically, especially in Western media. About fifty newspapers owned by the investment firm Alden Global Capital published editorials in all newspapers calling Hamas a “terrorist organization” and the October 7 attack a terrorist organization. After such strategic use of language, social perception in the West changes dramatically. People think Hamas is cruel and doesn’t care about anyone, but Israeli attacks are often praised for their precision and skill. Much of the time, the media downplays the humanitarian pain the Palestinian people are going through in favor of Israeli killings and security concerns. The goal of Israeli evacuations from Gaza is to reduce civilian deaths, even if they cause logistical problems and human lives. These problems are exacerbated by the fact that social media has become a battleground against fake news. When people with different views express themselves on social media such as Facebook and Twitter, false information spreads very quickly. Using old or outdated information to solve new problems only helps spread false information. The widespread disinformation about Hamas beheading Israeli children was one such example that is very sensitive and changes the perception and dynamics of the conflict. This leads to more conversations because strong feelings and often false information can quickly change people’s minds. The Western language battle portrays the incidents and casualties of the Israel-Hamas confrontation as geopolitically biased. Western media have dehumanized Palestinian victims by hiding Israeli military operations in the conflict with Hamas behind euphemisms and passive language. When you talk about “Gaza violence”, instead of calling it “killed”, using the words “found dead” or “died”, it is easier to avoid responsibility and avoid the feeling of hatred and criminality from the word and make it a normal thing. The Washington Post’s headline after the Gaza hospital attack reported, “Gaza hospital attack feared several hundred killed, Palestinian officials say,” rather than claiming that Israeli airstrikes were killing Palestinians, which was later changed to “killed” in based on the critic. The Hamas attack has been described as a terrorist attack and the use of rhetorical means such as “atrocity”, “brutal murder”, “mass murder”, “lychig”, etc., while Israel’s attacks are justified as self-defense. This language This tool is often used to minimize the broader backdrop of the occupation and its unfair impact on the Palestinian people, thereby portraying Israel’s actions as justified and defensive. Western media supports this narrative war and rhetorical battles. We have seen the narrative supporting the Arab Spring, the securitization of Saddam Hussein’s regime through false rhetoric of weapons of mass destruction, the so-called humanitarian intervention in Libya, the portrayal of Ukraine as a symbol of resilience and Russia as a brutal aggressor, and the West has shaped many other rhetorics to support their interests and geopolitical motives . The Israel-Hamas conflict is no exception. Widespread disinformation, media propaganda, use of language, creation of binary opposition and narrative battles are carried out solely to serve the geopolitical interests of the West, especially the United States of America, because the survival of Israel and its image is important to the US presence in the Middle East.